PLEASE JIM: Before it is too late...

[Keith]

Forget keeping it tight.
Forget about defence (they can't go a game without screwing up anyway).
Get two up front.
Get the ball on the deck.
Play football.
Give the fans something to cheer about.

Because right now, most of us would take losing 0-4 playing attacking, entertaining football, with shots from outside the area and players not afraid to take players on or make passes to feet. But playing the way we have for far too long is simply driving fans away and leaving us feeling heartless. I love Jim to bits, both the professional and the man. But this can't go on much longer.

Morecambe, a team best watched on the internet And even that's not much fun right now.

[George Dawes]

we are what we are, never be too low when you lose and never be too high when you win.

[Keith]

we are what we are, never be too low when you lose and never be too high when you win.

There's 'never too low' and then there is Chinese water torture! [Set up for a Mr Potatohead and a 'Shanghai' comment!]

[Blackpool Shrimp]

Bet Jim is pretty low in that dressing room right now

[shrimpnsave]

Bet Jim is pretty low in that dressing room right now

Don't take this the wong way but do you feed off misery ?

[Blackpool Shrimp]

Not at all ...I love Jim as a person and i know he loves the club as much as i do

[jona77]

Jim has to admit his tactics and formation was totally wrong in the first half. We couldn't string 2 passes together and all of our hoofballs were mopped up by Mansfield's defenders. It was the introduction of the 3 subs in the 2nd half that transformed the game and we deserved a point at the very least. We started playing football to feet and stopped playing long balls. Which begs the question....why didn't the 11 that finished the game start it? Don't even get me started on the defending.......

[Phil Anderer]

we are what we are, never be too low when you lose and never be too high when you win.

Sorry George but after the drivel that was served up tonight that is an utterly trite comment. We have every right to complain and ask for a radical change in tactics.

[Sakhalin Shrimp]

we are what we are, never be too low when you lose and never be too high when you win.

Sorry George but after the drivel that was served up tonight that is an utterly trite comment. We have every right to complain and ask for a radical change in tactics.

The drivel got you 5 points though

[George Dawes]

we are what we are, never be too low when you lose and never be too high when you win.

Sorry George but after the drivel that was served up tonight that is an utterly trite comment. We have every right to complain and ask for a radical change in tactics.

i was taking this piss.

dont get to high when you win, nah Jim just tinker and change a wining team like you always do when where flying.

[Christies Child]

Two home games coming up to save his job....

[black morse]

It's already too late to get a play off place. However, I've been looking at past results (again!).
Up to and including Oct 20 our league situation was P13 W7 D1 L5 with 31 goals for and 26 against. Not bad at all but it was about that time that Jim stated that we were letting in too many goals and the team could be improve in that area. Many of us feared that that, with limited player numbers, that meant bolstering the defence at the expense of the attack. Results since that time P11 W3 D3 L5 and our goal difference, which was +5, has been wiped out.

For a few years now we've been similar, being well up with the leading teams until late autumn and then dropping steadily back. We slip into a totally defensive mentality, defending too deep and giving wide men far too much room. I can only think of 4 possible reasons for this.

In no particular order -
1) Jim is a great person and gives his all for Morecambe but he has a flaw. He lacks belief in the team and in himself. When things are going well he gets cold feet and starts to think in a negative way. It has often been pointed out on here that his interviews are flat and often rather depressing. I used to think he was trying to control the fans expectations but is it lack of belief? Such lack of belief then spreads to the whole team.
2) As an ex-defender Jim is just too defensive minded.
3) The time when we become rubbish seems to coincide with the time the bad weather kicks in and we haven't got the players to cope with the conditions. Bad weather can also mean more injuries and with a smaller squad than most this has a big impact. These same players that we say are rubbish now we were praising early in the season when playing conditions were much better.
4) It could be PMG that lacks belief. He may not believe that we are capable of going up and staying up in League1. If we go up and come straight back down we could go on a slide that is difficult to stop. If it's this one it would mean that he is telling Jim to put the brake on and I find it difficult to believe that Jim would bow to that and this one is probably too far fetched!

Take your pick! I personally think it could be a combination of the first 3. Performances could pick up when the weather improves if it is number 3 but if it is 1 and 2 Jim needs to change.....something he has given no sign of being able to do.

[fulwoodshrimp]

What is it about Mansfield that reduces our management to pick bizarre line ups? Last season after a bright start we fielded a very defensive and negative team at Mansfield and last night we started the game with a heavily defensive side that struggled to play any football. A common factor in both games was we lost!! Since the manager's focus on improving our defence we have leaked goals galore and blunted our attacking prowess. The drab, boring football on offer at the Globe is losing spectators and costing the club. We must see changes to the shape of the team and a much more positive outlook- excuses are no longer acceptable. No more of the "We are what we are " crap that is breeding negativity. The next two home games are crucial for the management team, the board cannot continue to support the drivel currently on offer.

[KenH]

Trouble is that Jim seems content to stay in League 2, which he has achieved again this season. He regards this as a success with his defeatist/depressive attitude. The paying punters aren't impressed and are voting with their feet. His media message is that we've no money so we can't get the players he wants. That gives a very unflattering message to the players we do have - i.e. "you're only here because no-one else wants you and you're cheap!". That's probably why they often can't be arsed to put a shift in -i.e. too many can't be arsed to run for a 50:50 and some clearly aren't concentrating during a match when they're barely aware of what's going on around them. Jim needs to remove his blinkers and realise that his "favoured few" players who seemingly always start despite how crap they are need to be left on the bench and others given a chance (especially the youngsters). I remember that Wolves game where the youngsters played with passion and real enthusiasm and commitment. Not seen anything like that lately.

[KenH]

The next two home games are crucial for the management team, the board cannot continue to support the drivel currently on offer.

Unfortunately, the board have clearly got the same negative/hopeless mindset. We all know they're up against it with lack of funds, but it's when times are hard that you find out just how good your management are (on and off the pitch!). I've see it countless times in business. Some management just give up and watch the business run into the ground if they don't have the resources to do what they want (the public sector/union mentality where money is the answer to everything, so no money means inevitable failure because they gave up due to corporate paralysis!), whereas others just buckle down, find cheaper ways to do things, do different things that cost less money, etc. - the typical small business mentality of making things happen on a shoestring.

[mrpotatohead]

The line up was obviously to try and counter an expected physical match, which we got, interesting that all the skilful players that were left out, in all probability will be off elsewhere soon?

Its looking very much like its make do and mend in all areas on and off the pitch for the rest of the season, we are going to limp through till may with nothing to play for, and no surprises on or off the pitch, to be honest even the most dedicated fans are going to be struggling to bother with whats left.

[morecambegeek]

Two home games coming up to save his job....

Do you have a source for this or are you just plucking stuff out of the air?

[SupermarketShrimp]

Two home games coming up to save his job....

God I hope not.

[marky No.1]

Two home games coming up to save his job....

Where on earth dId you get that from?

Some good points made above. We will never find out the answers

[Phil Anderer]

we are what we are, never be too low when you lose and never be too high when you win.

Sorry George but after the drivel that was served up tonight that is an utterly trite comment. We have every right to complain and ask for a radical change in tactics.

i was taking this piss.

dont get to high when you win, nah Jim just tinker and change a wining team like you always do when where flying.

Fair enough George, sorry for that, but maybe next time a rolling eyes smiley ( ) or something might help to convey the intended sarcasm. Mind you, I've no room to talk, the number of times my humour hits several miles wide of the mark.

[Phil Anderer]

A couple of cause and effect equations for Jim, assuming he does actually read this:

Fewer goals = more losses + less entertainment = fewer fans = less income = lower budget

Logically therefore:

More goals = more wins + more entertainment = more fans = more income = increased budget

Don't moan about your budget when you are responsible for it diminishing Jim.

[Freez]

Not defending the performance from the 85th minute at all, however we have been scoring and conceding goals all season, we have won 4-1 and 3-1 at home, lost 4-2 three times and also 4-3, as well as 1-3, so there has been entertainment and goals, just too many losses!

This season we always look like we will score, and always look likely to concede.
This doesn't bring in crowds, winning does, if we had won four of those games 1-0 and it was as dull as shit, people would still be moaning, but at least we may stand a chance of slightly better crowds?

So we do we go out to win and entertain and concede, or go out not to get beat, and concede anyway??
We are stuck with this squad for now, may as well gung ho it for me for the rest of the season, we wont go down, so lets go for it!!
If we lose, at least have a go losing!

[KenH]

We are stuck with this squad for now

Are we? What about the youngsters who never seem to get a chance to show their potential? Doyle, Kelleher, Bailey, Bondswell and that other midfielder who was a sub a couple of weeks ago?

If Jim's budget is cut further, we'll not be getting many experienced decent players in Summer, and a lot of the current squad are out of contract, and arguably most don't deserve a new contract anyway, so next season, we may well be relying more on youngsters (from our own academy or elsewhere) or from conference players with potential, rather than attracting more experienced players from the same or higher leagues.

Our future could well lie with youngsters and conference players, so why not give our existing youngsters a boost and some playing time experience because they may well have to step up to the mark come August.

[Christies Child]

Two home games coming up to save his job....

Do you have a source for this or are you just plucking stuff out of the air?

Asking a question that quite a few were asking after last night's game hence the question mark....

[Phil Anderer]

Not defending the performance from the 85th minute at all, however we have been scoring and conceding goals all season, we have won 4-1 and 3-1 at home, lost 4-2 three times and also 4-3, as well as 1-3, so there has been entertainment and goals, just too many losses!

This season we always look like we will score, and always look likely to concede.
This doesn't bring in crowds, winning does, if we had won four of those games 1-0 and it was as dull as shit, people would still be moaning, but at least we may stand a chance of slightly better crowds?

So we do we go out to win and entertain and concede, or go out not to get beat, and concede anyway??
We are stuck with this squad for now, may as well gung ho it for me for the rest of the season, we wont go down, so lets go for it!!
If we lose, at least have a go losing!

And the last time we scored three at home? October 20th, so my point still stands. WE need to score goals, not just the opposition.